Jumping toy



March 21, 1961 E. H. MILLER ,9 5,550

JUMPING TOY Filed Sept. 23, 1957 /8 [mm H. Miller INVENTOR.

BY W

United States Patent JUMPING TOY Ervan H. Miller, Box 422, Spenard, Alaska Filed Sept. 23, 1957, Ser. No. 685,598

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-118) The present invention generally relates to an amusement device and more particularly to a toy constructed in such a manner that the toy will jump upwardly from a smooth supporting surface for providing a highly entertaining type of toy.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toy simulating in shape, size and distinguishing characteristics an animal which is a natural jumping animal such as a frog whereby the toy will actually jump and simulate the action of a frog and at the same time provide a noise maker which is actuated by the same force which motivates the toy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a jumping toy in the form of a frog constructed of hollow resilient material in a particular manner so that when the body of the toy is forced downwardly and then released, the toy will jump upwardly from the surface and at the same time cause a noise to be made due to the inward movement of air into the hollow interior of the toy.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, ease of operation, highly entertaining qualities and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the toy of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the details of construction of the toy with the toy being in a normal condition;

Figure 3 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the toy after it has been depressed and when it is ready for jumping; and

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the construction of the toy.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the toy of the present invention which includes a hollow body 12 having an enlarged hollow area 14 which simulates a sitting frog and includes a head portion 16 having an aperture 18 with a noise maker 20 disposed therein whereby air passing through the noise maker 20 will create a whistling or other type sound. The noise maker 20 is of a conventional construction such as that used in many types of squeeze toys which cause a whistling or similar type of noise when air passes therethrough.

The body 12 is constructed of resilient material having a substantially flat bottom 22 having a slight concave lower surface as indicated by the numeral 24. The portion of the body 12 adjacent the bottom 22 is generally in the form of a peripheral wall 26 of reduced thickness. The flexibility of the resilient material such as rubber or the like from which the body is constructed permits distortion of the bottom 22 and the adjacent portion of wall 26 to the shape illustrated in Figure 3 when the body 12 is depressed. The elasticity or resiliency of the material will then cause the body to return to a normal position with the action caused by the snapping of the bottom 22 back to its normal position causing the toy 12 to jump. The juncture between the body 12 and the peripheral wall 26 generally defines a bend line 28 which becomes a lower edge when the body is depressed.

When the body 12 is depressed so that the bottom 22 and the adjacent portion of wall 26 is distorted from the position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 3, the edge 28 of the concave area defined thereby engages the supporting surface which should be flat thereby causing a vacuum to be created in the area defined by the concavity or arch of the bottom 22 and the adjacent portion of wall 26. Due to the ineffectiveness of the seal between the edge 28 defined generally by the bend line and the supporting surface, air will gradually leak into this area and reduce the vacuum and permit the bottom 22 and the adjacent portion of wall 26 to snap back to a normal position. This snapping action will cause a reaction force which causes the body 12 to move upwardly and as the bottom 22 strikes the supporting surface, the body 12 also will be caused to move upwardly thus causing a jumping action. The device is easily constructed of one piece of material and as the air rushes back into the toy when the bottom 22 and the adjacent portion of wall 26 snap back into position, the noise maker will create a noise thus further enhancing the entertaining qualities of the toy.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A toy comprising a hollow closed body constructed of resilient air impervious, shape sustaining rubber-like material and having a generally fiat bottom, said bottom and adjacent peripheral wall portion of the body being flexible, said body having air inlet and outlet means therein for permitting the bottom and adjacent peripheral wall portion of the body to be folded upwardly and inwardly generally about a bend line at the upper edge of the peripheral wall portion of the body to a concave condition within the body when downward force is exerted on the top portion of the body, the bend line defining the peripheral wall portion of the body engaging a supporting surface and providing a seal to temporarily prevent the bottom and adjacent peripheral wall portion. of the body from going back to an original position, the release of the seal between the bend line and the supporting surface permitting rapid return of the bottom and the adjacent peripheral wall portion of the body to a normal position whereby the body will be projected upwardly due to the return of the bottom and adjacent peripheral wall portion of the body to a normal position thereby providing a jumping toy, said air inlet and outlet means including an air operated noise maker disposed in an opening whereby the toy will emit a noise as it jumps inasmuch as the bottom and the adjacent peripheral wall portion of the body returning to normal position will cause an im'ush of air through the noise maker thus providing a jumping toy with a noise maker operating generally simultaneously with the jumping action.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,181,113 Adams Nov. 28, 1939 2,279,799 Stanford Apr. 14, 1942 2,404,477 Ellis July 23, 1946 

